Mechanical feeder for ropeway-carriers



(No Model.)

2 sheets Sheet l A. S. HALLIDIE.

MECHANICAL FEEDER FOR ROPRWAY CARRIERS.

Patented Sept. 7,1897.

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(No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

I A. S. HALLIDIE. MECHANICAL EEEEEE FOR ROPEWAY CARRIERS.

Paytented Sept. 7,

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UNITE STATES PATENT Tries,

ANDREW IIALLIDIE, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

MECHANICAL FEEDER FOR ROPEWAY-CARREER8.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 589,654, datedSeptember '7', 1897.

Application filed March 2, 1897.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, ANDREW S. HALLIDIE, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city and county of San Francisco, State of California,have invented an Improvement in Mechanical Feeders for Ropcway-Carriers;and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same.

My invention relates to a device for feeding material into movingcarriers while they pass the loading-point.

It consists in the employment of a movable loading-box into which thematerial is delivered from a suitable bin or chute, saidbox being sodisposed with relation to the traveling rope that when the carrier whichis suspended from the rope arrives at a point opposite the box thelatter is set in motion and continued with the carrier until the load isdischarged from the loader to the carrier, after which the loading-boxis automatically returned to a position to receive a new load.

It also consists in details of construction, which will be more fullyexplained by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure lis a side elevation of my apparatus. Fig. 2 is an end View of the same.Fig. 3 illustrates another form.

In transporting material such as ore from the loading-chute to thecarrier some intermediate device must be employed to meet the conditionsof a stationary and moving receptacle, so that the stationary receptaclebeing iilledwith a definite quantity of ma terial suificient to fill oneof the moving receptacles or carriers means must be devised fortransferring the load from the receptacle to the carrier. This is thepurpose of my present invention. In carrying it out I employ a chute ofthe character usually employed for receiving ore or material from a mineor elsewhere and provided with the usual delivery gate at the lower end,discharging by the proper opening and closing in any usual or suitablemanner. This enables me to place sufficient material in the intermediateloading-box A to fill one of the carriers 13, attached to the movingrope O of the ropeway.

The discharge from the loading-box to the carrier must take place whilethe loading-box Serial No. 626,774. (No model.)

is being actuated by the moving rope of the ropeway, the motion of therope, the carrier, and the box during the time of transfer bc ingsynchronous.

The mode of operation is as follows: The ore or material being deliveredat the chute, the quantity to be delivered is controlled by a gate atits lower end in the usual manner. Below the gate of the chute is placeda load in g-box A, suspended by suitable hangers D either from a fixedpoint E in Fig. 3 or from a car E, which runs upon a track F overhead,the operation being essentially similar in both cases. The box A is ofproper size to receive suflicient material to fill one of theropeway-carriers B. This box is here shown as having three sides and asloping bottom. It is open at the top and upon the longer side whichterminates with the bottom of the sloping sides. In front of this longopen side is fixed a wall or partition G, firmly supported by anysuitable part of the framework, so that when the loading-box A is in itsnormal position the open vertical side is in contact with this fixedpartition, which thus forms, primarily, a closure for this side of theloading-box. hen the material is dropped from the chute into the boxthrough its opening on top, it will Iill the box, the stationary wallpreventing any escape of the ore from that side while the box is incontact with the partition.

In order to discharge the contents of the box into the moving carrier,the box is pushed away from the wall G, moving parallel with the face ofthe wall, so as to expose the open side. This movement, being in theline in which the traveling rope moves, is effected by means of the clipII, from which the car rier B is suspended, which comes in contact witha stop upon the hanger of the box, so that when the carrieris in frontof and beleased and commence to move simultaneously with the carrier,maintaining its position relative thereto as it moves out beyond thewall or partition G, so that the contents of the box A will slide downthe inclined bottom, and passing out through the now open side of thebox A it will fall by gravitation into the carrier which is thus loaded.1 have shown two methods of operating this mechanism. As

low the loading-box A the latter will be rev shown in. Figs. land 2, thebox is suspended, as before stated, by hangers D from the car E,traveling upon the track 1*. This track is made horizontal andessentially parallel with the line of travel of the rope fora dis tancesufficient to allow the loading-box A to clear the stationary wall orside G and allow the charge to fall from the loading-box into thecarrier. Beyond this the track inclines upward, as shown at F, and thecar will travel up this incline until it reaches a point where the stopon the car is disengaged from the clip on the rope, thus allowing therope and carrier to pass, when the car and loading-box will be free toreturn, the car returning by gravitation to its normal posit-ion and theloading-box passinginto position between the chute and the stationarywalhwhere it will be ready to receive another charge. The return of thecar is checked by means of a bumper I, striking against and compressinga spring J of suitable stiffness, and when the car has reached itsproper position it is retained and prevented from returning by means ofa latch K, which hooks over or engages any suitable catch, as shownatIJ. This latch K is here shown as formed upon the end of a levcr-armsuitably pivoted to the car, and its opposite end'is adapted to engagewith one arm of a bell-crank lever M. site end of this bell-crank leverin the pres ent case forms the stop against which the clip on the ropemakes contact when the carrier B has arrived at the proper position withrelation to the loading-box, and the first action is to move the leverM,so that, actingthrough the pivoted latch-lcver, it disengages the latchK to allow the car and loading-box to start. This disengagement allowsthe spring to act with whatever pressure may have been stored by itscompression on the return of the car, and this assists in moving the carand box promptly and overcoming the inertia.

As the car moves along the horizontal portion of the track, the loadwill be discharged from the box into the carrier, as previouslydescribed, and by the time this transfer is completed the car begins torun up the inclined portion of the track F, and this carries the stop Mupward until it is disengaged from the clip 11, thus allowing the latterto pass with the cable, while the car being released from its contactwith the clip returns by gravitation to its normal position, the returncompressing the spring J and causing the latch K to engage and retainthe car and loadingbox in their normal position.

It will be understood that any device may be employed which will allowthe loading-box to be moved with the carrier to such a distance as todeliver the load from one to the other and to then return theloading-box to its normal position.

In Fig. 3 I have shown the loading-box A as suspended from a pendulum D,this pendulum being of sufiicient length and having a fixedfulcrum-point E at the upper end in The oppo-,.

place of the traveling car E shown in the first construction.

It will. be seen that the mechanism and operation are essentially thesame in this case. the pendulum being retained upon its swing a littleto one side of the vertical position by means of the latch K, previouslydescribed. and when it is released its own tendency to return to thecenter in addition to the pressure of the spring Ilserves to start itand allow it to move with the loading-box A in unison with the carrierbox B, which is suspended froin the rope.

The swing of the pendulum finally carries its lower end upward until thelever M is dis engaged from the clip H and the latter passes on,allowing the pendulum to return by gravitation to the point where it islatched.

The operation in either case is the same. and various equivalentmechanisms may be substituted without materially altering the characterof my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what Iclaim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is v 1. A mechanical feeder for traveling canriers consisting of a loading-box having an inclined bottom and one openside, a stationary wall against which the open side of the box normallyrests, a means for suspending the loading-box whereby it is movable in aplane parallel with the fixed partition, and stops by which theloading-box is moved away from the wall and in unison with the movementof the carrier when the latter has reached a point below and oppositethe loading-box. whereby the contents of the loading-box are transferredto the carrier.

2. A mechanical feeder for continuouslytraveling carriers consisting ofa chute, an open-topped loading-box supplied thereby, said box having aninclined bottom and an open discharge side meeting the lower edge of thebottom, a stationary wall opposite which the loading-box normally standswhereby the wall serves to close the open side of the loading-box, asuspending device to which the loading-box is connected and by which itis allowed to move in a plane parallel with the face of the stationarywall so as to uncover its open side, stops fixed respectively to themoving parts and to the loading-box connections, whereby the loading-boxis caused to move in unison with the movement of the carrier when thelatter has arrived at a point opposite to and below the loading-box.

3. In a mechanical feeder for ropeways, a loading-box and a means forsupplying it with material, said box having an inclined bottom and oneopen side, a stationary wall lying parallel with the open side andserving to close it while the box is in its normal position, an endlesstraveling rope and carriers suspended therefrom, a means for suspendingthe loading-box and allowing it to travel parallel with the travelingrope, .a stop fixed to the supports of the loading-box and acorresponding clip upon the rope whereby contact of the latter with theloading-box stop, causes the box to move in unison with the movement ofthe carrier after the latter has arrived in position beneath and in linewith the loading-box, and means for disengaging the stop from the clipand returnin g the loading-box to its normal position.

at. In a mechanical feeder for ropeways, a loading-box having aninclined bottom and one open side, a stationary wall against which theopen side of the box lies when in its normal position, a stop connectedwith the boxcarrier, a means whereby the box may be filled with materialto be transferred, a ropeway and carriers movable in line parallel withthe face of the stationary wall, a clip fixed upon the rope, a latchadapted to be operated by the stop, said latch normallyliolding theloading-box in position and being disengaged by contact of the clip withthe stop, whereby the loading-box is moved in unison with the carrier, ameans for returning the box automatically to its normal position, aspring whereby the recoil of the loading-box is received, the springcompressed and the latch caused to engage with a holding-catch.

5. In a mechanical feeder for ropeways, a lending-box having an inclinedbottom and one open side, a stationary wall opposite which the open sideof the box normally stands, means for charging the box, a traveling ropeand carriers suspended therefrom, clips upon the rope and a latch andstop upon the loading-box whereby when the clip makes contact with thestop the loading-box is unlatched and impelled forward in the line oftravel of the rope, the open side is moved beyond the stationary wall,and the contents of the loading-box delivered into the carrier beneath,a suspending device for the loadingbox whereby it is carried above theline of travel of the clip and rope and is disengaged from the stop andthe latter is released and allowed to return by gravitation to itsnormal position.

6. In a mechanical feeder for ropeways, a movable loading-box having aninclined bottom and an open side, and a stationary wall to form aclosure for the open side when the box is in position to be charged.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

ANDREW S. HALLIDIE.

Witnesses G. C. SHERLIXG, S. FLETCHER.

